1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a trigger mechanism, and more particularly to a linear firing mechanism with a modular housing that situates the firing mechanism in the firearm.
2. Related Art
Trigger mechanisms for pistols typically use either a hammer assembly or a striker assembly. In the former, a hammer is actuated by the trigger. A mainspring connected to the hammer forces the hammer to rotate around a pivot and strike a firing pin which is thereby forced forward to hit the primer of the chambered round and discharging the pistol. In the latter, the striker that is forced forward to hit the primer is directly acted upon by the mainspring which is typically coiled around the striker or situated behind the striker. The present invention relates to trigger mechanisms which use a striker assembly as generally described below.
In single action trigger mechanisms with a striker assembly, the striker is cocked during the first cycling of the firearm's bolt carrier or slide mechanism which is also used to chamber the first round, and the mainspring at this point is fully compressed. For every subsequent shot the striker is automatically cocked by the recoiling slide assembly, i.e., precocked. The trigger travel and the pull weight are the same for every shot, and for each shot after the initial cocking or discharge, the trigger travel is short and the pull weight is light.
In double action trigger mechanisms with a striker assembly, there is no bolt carrier or slide mechanism which chambers a round or automatically cocks the striker. Instead, for each shot, the striker is cocked only by pulling the trigger which typically has a longer travel and heavier pull weight for every shot as compared with the precocked single action trigger mechanism. Due to the length of the trigger travel and pull weight for each discharged shot, the trigger mechanism may not require an external mechanical safety although the safety can be incorporated into the design.